Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any country.
Perilla (Perilla frutescens L. Britton) is a cross-pollinating edible plant which belongs to family Lamiaceae that is frequently used as one of the most popular garnishes and food colorants in some Asian countries and as part of popular and traditional Chinese herbal medicines to East Asia and a traditional crop of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, other Asian countries and USA.
Longvah and Deosthale (1998) have demonstrated that Perilla seed is a potential source of food, that is rich in fat and protein of good quality, which can be used in both human and animal nutrition. They also demonstrated that the potential of Perilla seed protein can be increased by dehulling the seeds and then cooking them. Perilla seed is particularly used in India (P. G. Peiretti, 2011) and in Korea where the seeds are consumed as flavoring and nutritional sources in combination with cereals or vegetables after roasting (Shin and Kim, 1994). Perilla seeds and oil are good source of α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3; ALA) and other aspects of their dietary value have been researched (Longvah and Deosthale, 1991). Perilla oil is widely used as a salad, oil dressing or cooking medium (Shin and Kim, 1994). In India, one species, P. frutescens generally occurs. In Asia, especially East Asia, two distinct varieties are known on the basis of their morphological characters and uses; P. frutescens (L.) Britton var. frutescens, an oil crop and P. frutescens (L.) Britton var. crispa (Thunb.) Deane, a vegetable and a Chinese medicine. Var. frutescens is cultivated and weedy type, larger in size and has larger, soft seeds, whereas ornamental type red leaved var. crispa is smaller, has more branching, and has smaller hard seeds. In Indian Himalaya, only the cultivated and weedy types of Perilla (var. frutescens) generally occur, while ornamental variety being occasionally grown in gardens only.
In North-East India, the fresh leaves are eaten as leafy vegetable, young shoots and flowering tops are boiled in the form of soups and consumed with boiled rice for flavouring and seed oil is used in cooking. In Uttarakhand Himalayan region, the seeds of Perilla are eaten raw and also used to prepare ‘Chutney (Sauce)’.
Seeds of Perilla are potential source of food that is rich in fat and protein of good quality, which is used in both human and animal nutrition. Perilla seed is particularly used in India and in Korea where the seeds are consumed as flavoring and nutritional source in combination with cereals or vegetables after roasting. The seeds and fatty oil are good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as α-linolenic acid (C18:3; omega-3) and linoleic acid (C18:2; omega-6). The consumption of Perilla seed oil has also been reported to improve learning ability, retinal function, suppression of carcinogenesis, metastasis, thrombosis, allergies and has shown potential beneficial efforts to decrease the circulating levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides without toxicity in a short term animal experiment. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for a number of bodily functions, including muscles activity, blood clotting, digestion, fertility, cell division and growth.
Keeping in mind the importance of Perilla, the need for developing better plant type having high seed yield combined with fatty oil yield with consistent of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids was felt and planned breeding and selection process was undertaken at the experimental farm of CAP, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), India to develop the cultivar ‘CAP HEMA’.